Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Leicestershire

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 1 SC436372

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Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a large private provider and offers care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2025 and was present for this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home. Their views were sought and have contributed to this report.

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Inspection date: 21 January 2025

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 21 January 2025

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. This move was planned, and staff visited the child before they moved in. There were some initial concerns around relationships between the children, which led to some incidents of physical confrontation between them. These incidents have reduced, and children are now more settled and are spending positive time together.

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Findings from the inspection

Children have good relationships with staff, who are responsive to their needs. There have been occasions when children’s needs have not been fully considered. For example, one child did not attend school because staff refused to iron their jumper and drive them to school. This meant that the child missed a school trip and was upset. On another occasion, a child was left in a distressed state during an incident with another child and left the home unsupported by staff. Staff on duty were dealing with an incident and failed to consider the well-being of the other children in the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Children have access to health professionals and are supported to attend appointments. Staff access further support and guidance through the clinical team. Most of the children have education provisions that are suitable for their needs, and the manager works closely with schools. One child does not yet have suitable education in place. The manager is advocating for this issue to be addressed.

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Findings from the inspection

Children are supported to spend time with friends and family and these relationships are promoted. This helps children to remain connected with people who are important to them. Children are supported to develop hobbies and interests and engage in clubs outside of the home. One child is actively involved in a sports club and plays regularly for the team. Another child is now attending scouts, which is having a positive impact on them.

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Findings from the inspection

Children have regular meetings and one-to-one time with staff to provide them with opportunities to talk about the home and their care. There have been no complaints.

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Findings from the inspection

Although risks are well identified, children’s plans are not always being read by staff and are not consistently followed. This has led to incidents where staff have not followed agreed plans and routines. Police have been called several times to support with managing behaviour that challenges, and staff are not following the management guidance around police involvement in these kinds of incidents. This means that the emergency services may be unnecessarily involved in incidents, which puts the child at risk of being criminalised. Ofsted is not always informed of incidents of concern in a timely way. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 3 When physical interventions have been used, these have been reasonable and proportionate. Staff and children do not always have debriefs, which prevents opportunities for learning and reflecting and prevents children from expressing their views about the incident. Written reports do not always provide a clear account of

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Findings from the inspection

what has happened, which prevents management oversight from being effective.

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Findings from the inspection

On one occasion, the manager has failed to act in response to a possible allegation about staff conduct. They have also failed to address with staff that a child was left in a distressed state without staff support during an incident. This has the potential to place children at risk of emotional harm.

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Findings from the inspection

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. There are risk assessments and protocols in place to inform how staff will respond should a child go missing from the home.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager has started to implement systems and processes to assist with their quality assurance and oversight. However, these are not yet embedded in practice and have yet to be effective. There has been some improvement since the last inspection and the manager has a clear idea of how she would like the home to progress and develop.

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Findings from the inspection

There has been a large turnover of staff with nearly all the team leaving since the last inspection. Several whistle-blowing complaints have been made to Ofsted. These concerns have all been investigated and some learning has been identified.

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Findings from the inspection

A new staff team has been recruited and the manager is focusing on staff training and development. At times, this affects the manager’s oversight and time to carry out their own management tasks. Senior leaders and managers are providing additional support. The team is mostly unqualified and inexperienced, which has led to some inconsistencies in practice that the manager is addressing.

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Findings from the inspection

Additional training and learning opportunities have been provided to staff, which is helping them to develop their knowledge and skills. Some staff are not responding to management direction about carrying out specific tasks. Therefore, children’s plans and files are not always regularly reviewed and updated.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff attend regular professional supervision sessions and team meetings. This provides opportunities for reflection on care practice and learning and development.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager understands children and their needs and is a good advocate for them. Children have a positive relationship with the manager and will actively seek her out to share their views and concerns. The manager works well with other professionals and is building her networks. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/08/2022 Full Good 24/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must ensure that children’s plans reflect their needs and other plans offered, such as therapy plans and health assessment plans. This also relates to ensuring that staff practice considers children’s needs. 1 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; 1 April 2025 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 6 that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that: children’s risk assessments and plans are current and reflect information in other plans and that staff have read these plans and are following the guidance in place; concerns raised by staff about staff practice are responded to in a timely way; staff follow guidance and direction from leaders and managers relating to support and behaviour management of children.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must develop staff’s knowledge and skills and address staff practice issues. There must be effective management oversight to ensure that the 1 April 2025 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 7 home is consistently run in line with the statement of purpose.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly when any issues or trends of concern emerge. This should include the need to debrief with staff following any incident of restraint. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious incidents are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action to follow if the incident occurs at the weekend or on a public holiday. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Chelsea Hickinbotham

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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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